The Ugandan Bush War

   The Ugandan Bush War, also known as the Ugandan civil war, began in 1981 just after the reelection of the unpopular president, Milton Obote. Obote was first elected to become the president of Uganda in 1966 and was overthrown in 1971 in a coup d'état. When he was reelected in 1980, many groups that were against Obote claimed that the election was rigged. These groups came together to become the National Resistance Army (NRA). The NRA fought against Obote’s government, Uganda National Liberation Army (UNLA).
   The reason people were upset with Obote being reelected has to do with what happened in Uganda during his first term. Obote was the first president Uganda had after they became an independent country in 1962. After Obote took leadership, the country began to decline in general living standards and corruption took root. Obote’s government also created a large disparity between northern and southern Uganda. The way infrastructure and education systems were created lead to this divide. This is why many people were outraged when he was, presumably, falsely reelected.
   Immediately after the election, a former UNLA official, Yoweri Museveni, declared an armed rebellion against Obote’s government. This was the start of the Ugandan Bush War. Many different groups of people were joined with the NRA. All of them wanted to see the fall of Obote’s government.  Museveni became one of the leaders of the NRA. The first hostile attack occurred in 1981 when the NRA attacked one of the UNLA’s army installations. Museveni was very familiar with guerrilla warfare and used this to his advantage. The war between the UNLA and NRA resulted in many soldier and civilian deaths. The UNLA’s actions alone were responsible for tens of thousands of deaths as well as lots of civilian displacement. In 1985 another coup d'état lead by UNLA generals booted Obote out of his role as the president of Uganda. The new president became Tito Okello, one of the generals who lead the coup d'état. Okello was the president for six months until in 1986 when UNLA government troops began to desert their post and the rebel NRA took over. Museveni then became the president and declared the NRA as the official government of Uganda. It has been this way ever since.
Works Cited:
Mutengesa, Sabiiti. “From Pearl to Pariah: The Origin, Unfolding and Termination of State-Inspired Genocidal Persecution in Uganda, 1980-85.” How Genocides End, 21 Dec. 2006, howgenocidesend.ssrc.org/Mutengesa/.
Pike, John. “Uganda Civil War.” Global Security, 15 Dec. 2016, www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/war/uganda.htm.
“Uganda.” Mass Atrocity Endings, World Peace Foundation, 7 Aug. 2015, sites.tufts.edu/atrocityendings/2015/08/07/uganda-idi-amin-milton-obote-and-the-national-resistance-movement/.

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